[Gaze-position-dependent activities of striate cortex (V1) neurones of awake macaque monkeys]

We recorded the activities of single neurons of the primary visual cortex in awake, behaving monkeys to test the influence of the position of gaze on cellular activity. Two monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were trained to fixate a small spot positioned sequentially at 25 locations on a viewing screen. About half (52%) of the neurons recorded showed a selective gaze field (GF), when monkey fixated at this field of view, the cell activities increased significantly. For the majority of the neurons, GF located at the contralateral field of view with respect to the hemisphere from which responses were recorded. The GF was usually found a few degrees peripheral to the related RF. Gaze-position-dependent neurons were found at different depths of the cortex, but mostly in the superficial and the deepest layers. The results indicate that the striate cortex neurons may code information about gaze position.